Raja Ashraf recruited as many as 437 people without taking merit into consideration.

Former Pakistan prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and eight others were on Tuesday indicted by a court in a case pertaining to illegal recruitment in an electricity distribution company of Punjab Province.

Ashraf, 66, recruited as many as 437 people without taking merit into consideration, according to a case filed by top anti-graft watchdog the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Geo News reported.

The former prime minister, who held the office between June 2012 and March 2013, has rejected all the charges filed by NAB on Tuesday.

Ashraf was indicted for his alleged involvement in illegal recruitment in the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO), the report said.

The accountability court, which heard the case filed by the NAB last year, summoned witnesses to record their statements.

Ashraf, a senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader, has also been indicted by another accountability court in Islamabad in the rental power case. All accused have refused to plead guilty.

Ashraf is also accused of misusing his authority during his tenure as the minister for water and power to get approval from the Economic Coordination Committee for an increase in the down-payment to the rental power companies from seven per cent to 14%, amounting to about Rs 22 billion, the report said.